Page 43 of Secret Love

“He prefers a more modern look, but when he’s homesick, he comes over.” Henley laughs.

“It’s beautiful, Henley. Really beautiful.”

“I have Sadie to thank for a lot of this. She’s been so helpful, making it feel this?—”

“Cozy?” I fill in.

He smiles. “If that’s how you see it, I’m glad. It’s a big house, but I didn’t want it to feel cold or like we have to be careful where we put our feet.”

Instead of the black leather I’ve come to expect from a bachelor, it’s so refreshing to see neutrals with pops of muted color here and there. The woodwork and windows are such masterpieces, it would take away from the architecture to have anything distracting from it.

We walk into the living room and Audrey waves from the couch.

“Hi, Audrey. Good to see you today. How's your week going so far?”

“Not bad, I'm almost done with my homework already.”

“Wow, good job.” I smile at her and she returns it shyly.

She’s so pretty. I think she looks like a perfect combination of both Henley and Bree, and Cassidy looks most like Henley.

“Cassidy's in the kitchen. She was trying to get done before you got here, but she hadn’t finished all the dishes yet.”

“I had a little snack ready after school,” Henley says. “There’s still some left…would you like some pepperoni bites?”

“I’ll never turn down pepperoni bites.”

“Me either!” Gracie says.

“Come on back, let's get some food in you,” Henley says.

Gracie and Audrey both follow us into the kitchen and look at me in alarm when I gasp.

I put my hand on my throat and laugh. “I’m sorry. It’s just…this kitchen! Some of the cabinets have turrets?What?”

They all look at me with wide eyes and smiles.

“Hi, Cassidy. Sorry, I’m gonna need a minute before I can function like a normal human being.” I overexaggerate my deep inhale and they all laugh.

“We love this kitchen too,” Cassidy says.

“Andthere’s a spiral staircase,” Gracie yells.

Henley’s eyes widen with her volume.

“We’re excited you’re here,” he says. “Girls, Miss Seymour is here to help Cassidy work, so we’ll need to give them some privacy. But she needs to eat first, right?” He grins at me. “Right?”

“I do,” I say, smiling back. “I’ll eat quick and then we can get to work,” I tell Cassidy.

She nods and smiles sweetly, turning to hand me the plate of pepperoni bites.

“Thank you. I’m getting the royal treatment here.” I take a bite and hum. “Delicious. Oh, this is so much better than the sad sandwich I ate for lunch.”

“She likes pepperoni bites. Noted,” Henley says.

I swallow hard. Oh, this is bad. This is very bad.

My face is an open book.

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